The Son Always Rises, but the Daughter Sleeps In: A tale of OPB*

*Other People's Boogers

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Plague BEGONE!

I don't know if I need a doctor or an exorcist at this point. I started getting sick on MONDAY and I'm still not right. I thought my greasy Chinese dinner on Thursday meant I was cured. But I still can't look at ingredients without extreme nausea. Eric is much more energetic, but is still not eating anything but juice and Pedialyte. He is complaining less about his stomach, but since a tummy ache was status quo for so long with him, it's a little hard to tell what's really going on with that. Kaylee, however is mostly perky except for a plethora of lengthy tantrums about playing with the light switches. Tantrums which I can studiously ignore for roughly 10 minutes. Then I start the peace offerings.

"Do you want some juice?"

"NO!"

"Are you hungry?"

"NO!"

"Do you want to snuggle mommy?"

"NO!!!"

"Do you just want to lay there and cry for a while?"

"Yeah."

Can't argue with that. So I do.

I know... I'll go to the bank and start the therapy account for her too.

Onward Navy Soldier

Sammy, my beloved cousin and my only relative who looks like he could actually be related to me, is off to Iraq as of yesterday.

In my cloud of sickness and job stuff I had let it slip to the back of my mind. It's something that I hoped wouldn't happen, but it's pretty much a done deal. I couldn't convince him that he was gay or has celiac disease, so he's off to Iraq by way of Texas.

God Bless, Sammy. My heart is there in Baghdad with you. I'll see you in 179 days.

Barf Fest: The Aftermath

The once nice thing about your kid getting sick, is that they will NAP. Hear that?

I didn't think so. It's quiet here. So quiet...

I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get through the days with both kids and not being able to leave the house. The morning was kind of long, but E was super low key. K was INSANE. When we were upstairs, she had tantrums to go downstairs. When we went downstairs, she wanted to be upstairs. I usually ignore her tantrums, but MAN these were long ones. Eventually I figured out (because I'm slow that way) that her canine teeth are going to make an appearance soon and were probably providing the extra cranky sauce. And lo and behold! The lesson I learn on an almost weekly basis, Give the girl some ibuprofen, and you've got a different kid 20 minutes later.

I'm not the brightest mom on the block, but they know I love them.

We did make a trip to Blockbuster in the stroller. I rented Knocked Up! and Shrek. I think it's important that I put the right movie into the DVD player at the right time.

I heard a giggle from the direction of Kaylee's room. I guess I will attend to that.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Welcome to Barf Fest 2007!

Warning: Parental Post Regarding Bodily Fluids Follows. Do NOT READ if you are offended by such things!

Kaylee had puke in her bed on Monday morning. Sometime in the wee hours she barfed, howled and went right back to sleep. She frequently yelps in the night and puts herself back to sleep. But this was the one time when we really should have checked.

I threw out her sheet and stuck her in the bath first thing.

But she seemed fine all day. Then she puked on her way back from the mall in the car. Couldn't throw the car seat away, so I got that all cleaned up.

Then the next night I got it. Tuesday was a nightmare of feverish bathroom visits.

I'll say no more.

And today Eric has it. He was a little off this morning. Then his school called around 10:30 and said come and get him. "That boy ain't right."

And he wasn't. He's been "lying around being sad" much of the afternoon with a few barf breaks. He's farting like a hungover frat boy. But if his pattern is the same as me and Kaylee's, his nausea should be about gone. It will be followed by roughly 24 hours of limited consciousness. One plus day of limited appetite, followed by an intense craving for copious amounts of Chinese food. OK, Eric wouldn't and actually couldn't eat Chinese food (soy sauce contains gluten) but I'm sure he'll be ravenous by Sunday night.

I hope Rich doesn't get this. I'll be on my own with them all day tomorrow and I'll really need a break this weekend. And I will not get that with incapacitated husband.

Back to Work...

Looks like I'm going back to work. The perfect job came up, at not quite the right time and I'm going to try to make it happen. They gave me a 1/2 time 90 day provisional offer. (How's that for hedging our bets?) Hopefully it will turn into a real job in the next couple of months. If it doesn't, it's not the end of the world, but I have a feeling if it doesn't I'll feel like I've been smacked in the nose for a couple of weeks.

I think I have childcare lined up. Our awesome babysitter is available for 10 hours a week come January and she said she will do more if we need it.

About Me

My name is Margaret, but people that knew me before 1988 usually call me Meg. I grew up in The People's Republic of Cambridge and I used to live next door in Somerville. (Which is much cooler than Cambridge these days despite a conspicuous lack of public green-space). I graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1992, and to this day I have mixed feelings about that. I I'm married to a fabulously handsome and kind man and I have 2 really neat kids. We also have 2 cats and live in a Victorian in Melrose with a huge porch. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world most of the time. I have a lot of love and stability in my life. It may be unearned, but it is reciprocated and appreciated.